


Freefall: A DickBabs Story

by Ander_Zanova



Category: Batgirl (Comics), DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Acrobatics, Batgirl - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Fluff With Very Little Plot, Haly’s Circus, Nightwing - Freeform, learning circus things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-03-05 04:05:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13379808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ander_Zanova/pseuds/Ander_Zanova
Summary: Our dashing heroes are at it again, but this time they’re super busy and just honestly trying their best to make time to see each other. The Greatest Showman definitely inspired some of this. (and while we’re taking about that, can we also mention how amazing Zac Efron would be as Dick Grayson?) Anyways, if you want some circus/grayson backstory feels you’re in the right place. Enjoy!





	1. Fanfare

The third episode of Star Wars blared in the background. It had taken a solid 15 minutes for her to straighten out the details surrounding the whole series for him. Somehow the boy wonder had managed to grow up having seen a grand total of zero Star Wars films. The original trilogy came out in the 80s. This one was the first of the prequel, those came out in the early 2000s. And yes, they numbered them wrong when they first came out. It was intentional, and no it didn’t make a lot of sense. She was sure to clarify that there were minute details that had been changed for re-release, but she (of course) had the original versions. And don’t you dare even try to argue with her, Han shot first. He’s a lunatic. A hot lunatic, but a lunatic nonetheless. Similar, in fact, to the body that occupied the seat beside her. There was a time in their lives when they had more time for each other, but now? Now they barely had time for a monthly hang out. Once a month. That’s what their relationship had been suffocated into.

Sure, they still talked on the phone; nearly on a daily basis. But Nightwing was busy trying to keep the peace in Blüdhaven, not to mention the fact that Dick Grayson himself was taking extended hours at the Police Station to cover for coworkers- friends that had been lost in the recent string of bombings. Of course, he blamed himself, he always blamed himself. But throwing himself into his work was the only coping mechanism that seemed to have any lasting effect. He knew, because other attempts had, in fact, been made. So he dove into his work. And while his eyes were dripping with guilt, his mind buzzed in exhaustion.

She wasn’t doing much better herself. Barbara Gordon, the Batgirl of Burnside, could barely catch a break. She had been promoted to head tutor at the Elementary School Library. Which initially seemed like a great advancement. But for all of her work, what had she received? A handful of obnoxious teens who probably wouldn’t end up in tech anyway, but had been placed in her program because they ‘needed something to occupy their time’ – according to their principal. They were a lovely bunch, constantly being caught in attempts to light up in the library, arriving to tutoring sessions reeking of vodka, it was a good time all around. In addition to her nightlife hopping buildings and listening in on police scanners, none of this lent itself willingly to mental stability. Her mind spun from the frustration of wrangling angsty teens, and her body ached in protest of the way she spent her nights.

But somehow, likely by some act of the gods, their monthly movie marathons/pizza parties had stuck. Saturday coffee dates had gone out the window weeks ago, Tuesday tacos at that truck down the street had barely even made it through her first month of tutoring. The most recent bombing left him with an extra noon shift, cutting out their occasional lunches at the Thai place downstairs. But the movie marathons, they had to hang on to those. At the very least, if they were going to be so busy that tacos and coffee dates were gone, the movie marathons had to stay.

\----  
Pizza boxes were strewn about the floor, credits rolling.  
“Well?” she looked at him quizzically.  
“Well…” he trailed.  
“What did you think?”  
“It was… um.. good?” unsure of how he was supposed to respond.  
“Good? Don’t you mean it was the best movie in the entire franchise and that nothing could ever compare?”  
He blinked blankly.  
“Okay, fine. It’s mediocre…” she admitted, slumping back into her seat.  
“It wasn’t mediocre it was… good.” he argued, disappointment evident on her face.  
“Dad loved that movie… said it reminded him of when he was in college and the originals were just coming out. This is the one that brought all that back, that made Star Wars cool again, he used to say.”  
“…I remember, one day he showed up to the manor in a Star Wars shirt instead of a uniform and I almost didn’t recognize him.” The former boy wonder noted, grinning.  
They reminisced about the ‘good old days.’ Fighting crime together, sneaking out late in costume, perching on building tops drinking beer out of plastic cups because if Bruce or Gordon caught them they’d both be dead, crashing high school parties to catch drug dealers who were preying on young teens. That was the life. Everything was so much simpler then.  
“Dick.”  
“Hmm?”  
“I miss you.”  
“Miss me? I’m sitting right next to you.” he teased.  
“Shut up. You know what I mean.”  
He nodded in affirmation, expression turning serious.  
“Once a month, Dick. We barely see each other for 3 hours. Once a month.”  
“I know…That’s not enough.” he stated, running a hand through his hair.  
They sat in airy silence.  
“Hey!” he sat up from where he had previously been reclined on her purple velvet couch. It was surprisingly comfortable for a couch that looked like it would only be good for decorative purposes. But then again, Batgirl didn’t buy expensive furniture if it wasn’t comfortable. Her legs outstretched across his lap, she jumped at the sudden comment.  
“What?!” She looked around the room as if in search of a threat.  
“No, no, hey, sorry. It’s fine.” he placed a hand gently on her thigh. “I just had an idea… It might be dumb but…”  
“What is it?” she raised a curious eyebrow, relaxing.  
“Have you ever wanted to learn how to fly?”  
Nearly-maniacal laughter erupted from her lungs.  
He paused.  
“I’ll attribute that reaction to exhaustion and take that as a ‘no’…” he admitted, trying not to look hurt.  
Realizing he was serious, she sat up, placing an elbow on the back of the couch.  
“Wait… do you think I could?”  
“Only if you really want to…” he trailed. If she was going to laugh at him for even the mere suggestion of the thing, she was going to have to work for another invitation.  
“Of course I want to!” almost screaming, she slapped a hand to her mouth, surprised. That lack of sleep was working terrible wonders on her mind.  
“Well if you really do want to give it a shot… Haly’s is setting up camp right outside Blüd. The man himself told me they’ll be around for a few weeks and that I could have free reign of the place if I wanted it… I think he’s trying to get me to come back for a show or two, but I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to catch up on some missed aerial training…”  
She hummed in response.  
“Moral of the story is that I have an entire circus at my disposal and you have an open invitation if you’ll take it… Assuming you don’t go all Joker-and-Harley again with that laugh.” he winked.  
“That sounds amazing but… we barely have time for a movie, how are we gonna--”  
“Count it as gym time.”  
“Oh. Interesting.”  
“Come on, we both spend at least 5 hours a week in the gym. Might as well do it together and have some fun at the same time.”  
Nothing.  
“Why am I having this much trouble convincing you to go to the circus?”  
“Oh, I’m convinced. I just think that if I’m going to make a fool of myself in front of your circus-family, you could maybe help me with something in return…”  
“You know I’m here for anything you need.”  
“You know those kids I told you about?”  
“The druggies from Burnside High?” he scrunched his eyebrows.  
“Want to help them concentrate in our sessions?”  
“You mean you want me to sit there and brood while you teach them to code?”  
“That’s the general idea, yeah.”  
“Babs, I would love to but…”  
“Bring your laptop, do your research and reports at the library. Count it as work.”  
“Oh, good thought.” he laughed.  
“How have we not thought of this before?” She wondered aloud.  
“I think the sleep deprivation might have something to do with that…” he admitted.  
“So… tomorrow morning? Say 6am? I’ll shoot Haly a text and let him know we’re coming”  
“6am?”  
“The place will be empty that early, I know that he said I could have free reign of the place but I don’t want to get in the way of the actual performers…” he trailed off, a twinkle in his eye, remembering his past life.  
“Well… if we’re going to be at the circus that early, we might as well save the environment and carpool.” Barbara suggested with a wink.  
“Carpool? No, I need to--”  
“Need to what? Get a good night’s rest? Drive back to Blüd?” she argued, snuggling in close to his radiating body heat.  
“You know… I don’t actually have a good argument…” he forfeited, smirking in her general direction.  
“Never do.” She teased back, turning off the TV that had been looping the Revenge of the Sith title screen for 30 minutes.  
The room sat in complete darkness, with the exception of the yellow light seeping in from the streetlamp outside her third-story apartment window, and the faint green glow of her desktop power button.  
“Take your shirt off, boy wonder.” She ordered from somewhere in the dark.  
“I’m sorry?” he chuckled, surprised at the sudden demand.  
“Shut up. You’re warm.”  
\------


	2. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara has doubts and Grayson is a sweetheart, as always

The carpool suggestion had ended in a far more exciting option: motorcycles. The morning was cold, mist glossing their helmets as they sped down the highway. The sun had yet to rise, and in the surreal early morning darkness, they were the only two living things as far as the eye could see. Lit only by their headlights and the occasional streetlamp, the vast darkness lent itself easily to the notion that they were the only people on the earth; the only two people that mattered.

Through Blüdhaven and a right turn at the old mill, twenty minutes later they were parking their bikes next to an elephant enclosure. Kickstands met damp gravel as helmets were quietly placed on handlebars.

The rows of tents lined one side of the walkway, boasting faded rainbows of color. Flagpoles lined the other side, tops barely visible through the thick fog. The whole place seemed abandoned, stuck in time, untouched, only to be inevitably awakened later that day. It was eerie, the way that everything stood still; unsettling to see a place like this, generally buzzing with activity and people and noise, so quiet and still. And yet, something about the stillness provided a warmth. A safe haven. A feeling of comfort that only came from places like this.

He interlaced their fingers as they walked, slowly – yet comfortably – towards the largest tent. It stood at least five stories tall, red and white stripes coming to three points along the top, flags at each point flapping gently in the wind. They hadn’t said a word since they parked, but as he pulled back a curtain to allow entrance to the tent, a small gasp escaped his best friend. He squeezed her hand tighter for a moment.  
“Pretty impressive, right?” he turned to her, signature sparkle having returned to his eyes. It was almost as if they weren’t going through absolute shit in real life. The circus provided an escape that a cape or a cowl or a badge couldn’t. It was disconnected from real life, freeing.  
“It’s amazing.” she whispered, taking in the view.

Poles and ropes supported the tent itself, protecting the aerial equipment housed within. Roman Rings hung at one end of the performance area, a large metallic hoop directly across from them. Between the two, the trapeze, the star of the show. Various other ropes and ribbons hug from their supports, dangling 50 of feet from the ground. The entire arena was enclosed with a red chain-link fence, surrounded by at least 300 seats, awaiting an inevitable audience. The scale of the thing was enough to elicit silence. Strings of round bulbs lit the entire structure in a faint orange light, flickering occasionally. The smell was gritty: of dust and plastic and metal, but not entirely unwelcome.

“Hang on.” he said in a hushed voice, planting a light kiss on her cheek and relinquishing her hand.

Removing his riding jacket, he darted off across the floor. Hopping nimbly over a chair, ducking through a hole in the fence on one side of the arena, and flipping over it on the other side. He reached grey box that sat against the wall.

She hadn’t moved, watching from where she stood as he gracefully navigated his way through the building. He flipped a switch and a loud thud, followed by a faint buzzing, gave way to light erupting from the two fixtures that were hung, highest of all, above the arena. She wouldn’t admit that she had flinched at the sudden noise. He replicated his leaps and bounds as he made his way back to her.  
“There, that’s better.” he grinned as he reached her.  
“I- I don’t know about this, Dick. Those… they… that’s really high up there.” she stumbled over her words, eyes fixed on the setup behind him.  
“It’s normal to be nervous your first time,” he explained “we hop rooftops at night for fun, Barbara, this is arguably much less dangerous.”  
Her raised eyebrow questioned his logic.  
“Hey, it’s dry in here, no rain to trip us up, there’s a net, and best of all: there’s me!” he winked.  
“You’ll be fine, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to and we’ll start of slow. You can stop anytime you want, but you have to at least give it a shot.”  
She sighed and smirked in response “Your logic is undeniable.”  
“Always is.” he grinned back, beaming with excitement.  
“Come on, let’s go.”  
Still having managed to somehow avoid eye contact she remained fixed on the arena behind him.  
“Babs? Hey. Babs.” he waved a hand near her face, trying to disrupt the staring contest she was apparently having with some invisible threat.  
“Psst. Helloooo?”  
No reaction.  
A step closer.  
“Hey…” he whispered in her ear. Moving her fiery red hair from her shoulder with a gentle flick of the wrist and placing the other hand on her cheek.  
“You can do this.” A kiss planted on her neck, just below her ear.  
“I believe in you.” He moved up to her cheek, his right hand moving to unzip her purple riding jacket.  
“Barbara Gordon.” He leaned back, she blinked, and - BOOM - she was snapped out of whatever fear had sucked her into its depths.  
“Oh.” A hushed chuckle escaped her lips as her eyes blinked back into his shimmering blue ones.  
“I can do this. I know. I can do this.” She affirmed.  
“Of course, you can!” He planted a kiss on her lips, lingering for longer than initially intended, before darting into the arena with her jacket in tow.  
She chased after him, a renewed sense of ambition fueling her body.   
\---


	3. Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the chapter title suggests, we get some actual acrobatics this time around. Grayson practically drools over Barbara. General cuteness overload.

He soared through the air, letting go of one bar as his hands met the next, executing multiple flips in between. That second of free fall, that split second in the air, _that_ was what he missed. The circus, this tent, they held so many memories; good and bad, the best times of his life, and the absolute worst. But when he was flying through the air, nothing else mattered. He was a free spirit again. He hadn’t lost his parents, he hadn’t lost his friends from the force, he hadn’t yet experienced traumatizing pain. He was free, he was happy.

She watched him from her chosen seat among the rows of wooden bleachers. This was the first time she had seen him perform, the first time she had seen him in his natural habitat- not out fighting crime, not out getting shot at- this was the first time she saw him _truly_ being himself, and she got a private viewing at that!

A double-somersault off of the high bars ended with a landing into the orange net below. Scrambling off of it, he darted over to Barbara, who stood at his approach.

“That was amazing!” She grinned.

“That? Oh, that was nothing. You should see the stuff we used to do with five of us up there. **_That_ ** was amazing.” He beamed.

“Okay, your turn!” He grabbed for her wrist.

Every muscle in her body wanted to pull away- to back away from the challenge- but her heart wanted to try this, _needed_ to try this. All the years of hearing stories of his days in the circus had led up to this moment. He was going to teach her to fly.

They ran – flat out sprinted – to the metal ladder that led up to the first landing. It was daunting, looking up from the floor where they stood.

They climbed 10 story buildings in their free time but something about this was more terrifying. Maybe it was the fact that she knew that this is how his parents died, right in this tent. Or maybe it was the fact that this was new-she didn’t know how to do this (she liked knowing how to do things). Or maybe-and this was the most likely- it was the fact that she felt vulnerable. The vastness of the tent made everything housed inside seem small and insignificant. Without the cover of her cowl, or the flap of her cape in the wind, she was herself- not some leather-clad superhero who operated in the dead of night-  and if she failed, Barbara Gordon failed. And Barbara Gordon didn’t handle failure well. When they finally reached that landing, the ground seemed to spin beneath them, threatening its worst.

“We’ll start out small.” Dick encouraged gently. “ I’m going to swing out on this one,” he said, grabbing a bar from where it was latched near his head, “and I’ll swing back and grab you. All you have to do is hang onto me.”

“Okay…” She acknowledged hesitantly as he put both hands onto the bar and pushed off from the metal floor. He twisted and flipped into an upside down position, knees locking over the bar instantly, as if that’s what they were always made to do. Hanging upside down, he called back at her, “You’ve got this, Batgirl! Whenever you’re ready!”

She sighed ‘it’s literally not that hard, Barbara, why are you freaking out, calm down, it’s fine.’ Her inner monologue rang.

He locked eyes with her on this fourth swing out, he was happy to wait for her do be ready, this wasn’t something you could rush.  The next time he made an approach his arms were outstretched, ready to meet hers, encouraging her to take that leap. She took a step forward, a deep breath, and winked at him. Raising her arms and toeing off from the platform, her hands met his forearms and his fingers wrapped tightly around hers. She let out a small gasp and looked up at him, eyes sparkling like fireworks in the night sky. He grinned a bigger grin than she had seen from him in years. “Look at you, my little Batgirl, all grown up.”

A few swings and they were losing momentum. “Point your toes.” He instructed, joy ringing in his voice. “And try and swing back and forth.”

As awkward as she thought this whole situation would be, it became perfectly natural after the second attempt. Maybe it was the fact that Richard Grayson was the one doing the teaching, or maybe she was always born to be an acrobat (not quite as likely). Either way, she loved the feeling, and this was just the basic stuff.

They gained momentum as she altered their pace, flying higher at each edge of their flight, wind whipping through their hair.

“Okay, I’m gonna let you go now.” He warned.

“Wait!” She gasped, regretting the imminent end.

“We’ll do it again, don’t worry. But for now, you need to learn how to fall.” Falling might just be the most important part of an acrobats’ career, one wrong move and it could all end in flames.

Following his instructions, they successfully disengaged and she landed gently on her back, dead center of the net. Bouncing only once. _Perfection._

“That. Was. Incredible.” She shouted up to where he still swung back and forth.

 _How can one woman be that perfect?_ He wondered to himself.

He flipped around, straightening up, assuming a sitting position on the bar before standing up on it, hands latched to each side of the rope.

“It _was_ incredible!” He agreed, “ _You_ were incredible!” He shot before releasing the ropes and launching forward, falling toward the net. A dive, one flip, two flips, and three flips before he landed 6 feet away from her, grinning like a kid in a candy shop.

“Barbara Gor-”

“Richard Gray-” They blinked at each other, apparently great minds _do_ think alike.

They both hesitated, each waiting for the other to proceed.

Laughing, she finally gave in. “You go.”

“Barbara Gordon, you are a natural.” He was practically glowing with pride.

“Funny, I was gonna say the same thing, Richard Grayson.” Using his full name for effect, and to entwine a slight undertone of… Sarcasm? Flirtation? Whatever it was, he liked it.

“Want to go again?” He asked, hopeful as always.

“Absolutely!” She responded, beaming.

No words followed, but in their place, a wink and a click of the tongue. And he dashed off, crawling (more gracefully than she thought possible) across the net, and landing squarely on the ground. He made his way to the ladder, not turning to locate her until he reached its base. She, of course, darted after him, but not before he caught a glimpse of her struggling to make her way off the net. She only got an ankle tangled once, thank you very much. Maybe she wasn’t as destined for the circus as she thought. Beginner’s luck?

After an hour of attempts, mostly failed, they executed _Stardust Flight_ – the first routine he had ever successfully completed with his parents all those years ago. It was a simple routine, not much was involved, and yet – for an inexperienced beginner to pick it up in an _hour_ ? _That_ was impressive, even to Richard Grayson- acrobat extraordinaire, born into this life and trained from the age of two- _Impressive and hot as hell._

Half an hour later saw them speeding back down the highway, on their way to Downtown Blüdhaven. The sky had cleared since their arrival, but the fog had turned into a warm humidity, which somehow managed to fog up their helmets nonetheless. His comm unit chirped, informing him of an incoming call. Pressing a button on the side of his helmet, he answered:

“Go for Nightwing.”

“Oh hey Nightwing, Batgirl here.”

He turned to glance over his shoulder, tossing his head as if to tease her for lagging behind. She, of course, picked up on this nonverbal sass. It radiated off of him like steam off a pot of boiling water. Speeding up to match his speed, she shook her head in indignant acknowledgement, pretending to be over it (she wasn’t).

“Question.” She shot blankly.

“Go.” He stated immediately.

“When can we go back?” Her voice chipper with endorphins and the high he knew so well – the high of freefall, of fight, of spinning through the air- absolutely free.

“As soon as you want!” She could sense his grin through the earpiece.

“Tuesday?” 

“Absolutely” He agreed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for how long it took me to post this... As a STEM major I’m either studying, trying to socialize or just plain get a little bit of sleep, so I’ve been pretty busy! I hope you enjoyed it though! Here’s to hoping it's not long before I get the next chapter to you!


	4. Flirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long overdue update to one of my favorites. Enjoy! <3

Her tutoring sessions began again Monday afternoon, and she was practically elated with the idea that she’d have another adult in the room that day- even if he was going have his nose buried in reports the whole time. 

The computer lab consisted of three rows of computers, each desk with its own swively chair. The lab sat in the back of the library, hidden behind rows upon rows of books. For a poor area of Gotham, Burnside was apparently doing pretty well for itself. Golden sunlight shone through the vast windows that encompassed the main floor. The space was open and airy, unlike anything else in this area of town. You couldn’t quite see the lab from the entrance, so when Dick arrived for their agreed-upon tutoring session, directions from the librarian were greatly appreciated.  
“Hi. I’m looking for the Burnside Elementary Programming Tutoring session?” He asked as he sauntered up to the main circulation desk. Wow that was a mouthful.  
“Ah, yes. Right through those doors.” The librarian nodded toward the back of the library, not so much as looking up from her paperwork.  
“If you are dropping off your student please--”  
“Oh no, I’m just a friend of one of the tutors.” He cut her off, slightly disgruntled by the fact that she thought he might be a parent.

With no response from the librarian, he opted to put his detective skills to the test. This mission? Find the freakin’ computer lab.

Following the general nod he had received from the lovely librarian, he made his way down the first few rows of shelving. The one on his left began to close in on him and he couldn’t decide if this was some sort of an attack or- he darted toward the end of the shelving unit- oh, no… just some kid looking for a book. Hydraulic shelving? How in the hell did Burnside afford all of this at a Public Library? He rounded a corner, finally seeming to have found the right place. Glancing through the windows, he noted the layout before looking up at the silver lettering on the wall.

The John and Mary Grayson Laboratory: A Wayne Enterprises Donation.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

‘How? What? What is going on…’ His mind raced. ‘No time to panic, you can ask Dad later.’ I guess that explains how Burnside got such a nice library. Wayne money. There was a time when something like this would have done a much worse number on him, but.. Now? He wasn’t healed, per say, but more… well adjusted. 

He swung the glass door open, making his way to the singular empty seat in the lab which just happened to be next to Barbara. She had saved it for him, of course, knowing that he would prefer a seat at one of the two desks that had a clear view of the door. Coincidentally, it backed up to the far wall. Officers couldn’t be too careful in this day and age, especially in Gotham. But add Nightwing senses into that? Yeah, he needed a clear view of the door at all times if this was going to even have a chance at working right off the bat.

“Saved you a seat.” Barbara whispered as he approached, “Sorry it’s kind of cold in this corner. But I figured-”  
“I’ve done worse.” He said in a flat tone, still slightly shaken. And he had, indeed, done worse for himself; on patrols, on night shifts with The Bat, he’d done worse.

They had previously discussed the fact that if the rambunctious teenagers didn’t know that Dick was a friend, they might be more inclined to actually participate and/or be extra good. These teenagers had this weird gotta-try-and-impress-the-random-strangers thing. Which worked out conveniently in this case. And, if he hadn’t been so focused on needing to deal with the annoying high schoolers, he may have noticed how cute and small the other children were.

He took his seat, opening his jet-black laptop, and pulled up some half-finished reports. Buried. He was absolutely buried in paperwork. However, instead of getting to work on those reports, he pulled up the messaging app that he and Barbara often used.

“Which ones are they?” He sent, trying to determine which kids would be the troublemakers.  
“Blond, tall, grey t-shirt. Garret. He’s the worst, followed closely by Redhead, green hoodie, black glasses. Max.” She replied quickly.  
“Got it. I’ll be working on reports, let me know if I can help. If you need *anything*”

 

“Alright guys, let’s work on homework before getting to anything else. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!” She announced to her odd-ball group of students.  
“Yes, Babs?!” Tall-and-blond called rudely. Dick looked up from his computer, clenching his jaw at the use of her nickname by a student.  
“I have a question! I’m working on a biology project and I have this question I wonder if you would explain…” He flipped over to the Reproductive System chapter in a textbook recently removed from his worn backpack.  
Fighting an eyeroll, Barbara approached the student.   
“Garret, you know very well that this is Programming tutoring. If you need help with your Biology homework, I’m sure that you can talk to your school counselor about that.” Barbara responded, surprising Dick with the amount of composure she retained.  
“Okay, but there is this one part that I’m having a particularly difficult time with.” He pushed, flipping to the page on Female Reproductive Systems. Talk about uncomfortable.   
“Garret-”  
“Hey man,” Dick led, swooping in. He stood between them for a moment before leaning on the desk.“What questions you got? I aced my sciences in high school! Granted, Anatomy and Physiology was more of my strong suit, but I’m sure I can help you with a thing or two.”  
He looked down at the textbook, sipping the cup of coffee he’d brought with him.  
“Ah yes, the female reproductive system. I remember this vividly, my teacher had separated our class and-”  
“Oh, no!” Garret fumbled, “I think I actually just remembered the lecture from class. I’ll just flip over my notes and-”  
“Oh, it’s no problem.” Dick pushed, “What’s your question?”  
“I- uh- I don’t-” the student floundered.  
“You weren’t just trying to annoy your tutor, now, were you?” Dick raised an eyebrow.  
“No, I- uhm- I was just- I got confused and-”  
“That’s what I thought, what do you say let’s stick to programming in here?”  
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Garret replied hastily.

“Alright then.” Dick turned away from the student.  
“Sorry to interrupt, miss. Just thought I might be able to help.” Dick winked sneakily at Barbara as he made his way over to resume “work” at his laptop.  
“No problem sir, thank you.” She exchanged, fighting a blush that threatened its way up her neck.

“Now, as I was saying, if you have any questions about Programming, please let me know. In the meantime, get some homework done.” She turned on her heels and paced the classroom for a moment, answering questions here and there before returning to her seat as well.

She unlocked her computer screen only to see a notification from him. She turned, crinkling her eyebrows questioningly. He offered no reply aside from a nod, indicating that she open it.

“I wouldn’t mind a lesson in biology myself, Miss Gordon.”

Well. That did it. The power of the blush greatly surpassed her willpower. Attempting to hide a grin with her to-go coffee mug, she looked at him. Wiggling his eyebrows in response, he looked her up and down and shrugged innocently.

“Richard John Grayson. There are children in this room.” She sent, in feigned protest.  
“And?” He argued lightly.  
“And. Shut up.”  
“Make me.” He sent, followed closely by an, “Oh wait, you can’t.”  
“Oh, I so can.”  
“Now Barbara, not in front of the children.” He tossed back, just as a student approached the desk.

“Miss Gordon?” The elementary student asked.  
“Yes, Lee? What is it?”  
“Are you alright?” She could sense the genuine concern in behind the question.  
“Of course! What’s wrong?” Barbara responded lightly.  
“Your face is kind of… red. Are you running a fever? I ran a fever last week and got to stay home from school!” The child announced proudly. “Maybe you should go home too!”  
“Oh! You know? It’s just a little warm in here. I’m feeling alright though, thank you for asking! That’s very kind. Why don’t you get back to work?” She encouraged. “Let me know if you need anything else.”  
She watched the child return to the desk before tossing open her laptop again, fingertips flaming across the keys. 

“Look what you’ve done, Dick. That kid thinks I’m sick. SICK.”  
He let out an audible chuckle under his breath.  
“Hey, what can I say, maybe you *should* get out of here. ;)” He replied proudly.  
“Not. Helping. Get back to work.” She demanded reluctantly.

As soon as the message was delivered, she closed the computer determinately and sipped her coffee. She shook out her fiery red hair, which had been lightly curled, and took a deep breath, ridding herself of all of those feelings. Standing, she sat out to resume the work of pacing the floor, waiting for any and every question she might receive that afternoon. And they were off to a great start.


End file.
